Core Flexibility Training Improves Golf Swing Power And Distance   by Mike Pedersen

Core flexibility training is critical if you want to improve your golf swing power and driving distance. Your core is the engine to your swing. If your core is inflexible you will not be able to make a full backswing with minimal tension.

Picture your core being the middle of your body. That’s as simple as you can get it. It is mainly your abdominals, but can also include glutes and lower back. This area of your body is the most susceptible to injury.

That’s why the majority of amateur golfers have a low back injury at some point in their golfing career. They have never focused on core flexibility training, as well as core strength training for more power.

To produce more power and distance in your swing does not mean swinging harder with your arms. Haven’t you tried that before? If so, did you hit it farther? I’ll bet not.

Just like hitting a baseball, tennis ball are even throwing the discus in track and field, you use your core for most of your power. You rotate with your core to create torque, then you unleash that stored up energy into the hit, whether it be a baseball, tennis ball or golf ball.

The more efficient you become with using your core, arms, shoulders and hands in a sequenced motion, the added distance will come quite easy. You’ll be shocked at how quickly your driving distance goes up.

Core flexibility training incorporates “rotation”. Golf stretching in this manner warrants the best results in the shortest amount of time!

Every core flexibility stretch you do should involve some form of rotating. This is very important since the golf swing is a rotate (turn) back and a rotate (turn) forward. The more range of motion you can achieve in your core area the more power you will produce.

Here’s a little test you can do while your sitting there reading this article!

Put your arms across your chest, keep your eyes focused straight ahead. Now rotate as far as you can to the right and make a not of how far it is. Did you get to a 90 degree shoulder turn (that’s where you need to be). Then rotate as far as you can to the left. How far did you get.

This will be a “wake-up” call for many of you. If you find you can’t rotate at least 70 degrees of center, you’ll have no chance at maximizing your power and driving distance.

We do this simple core flexibility test seated to remove cheating of the lower body. If you were standing, it would be very easy to rotate your hips and get a bigger shoulder rotation.

Being seated removes this compensation!

A seated rotation is “true” core flexibility and range of motion.

I hope I’ve educated you on the importance of core flexibility training to improve golf swing power and distance.

About the Author

About The Author: Mike Pedersen is one of the top golf performance experts in the country. He is Golf Magazines golf performance expert author, and founder of several cutting-edge online golf performance membership sites. Take a look at his just released golf dvds and manual at his improve golf swing site - Perform Better Golf.

Money-wise For Muscles   by Sherri L Dodd

American Council of Exercise teamed with Consumer Reports to find the most effective exercise equipment. While they had plenty to say about weight equipment and cardio machines, abdominal, butt and inner thigh devices barely received a nod. In fact, the words used were “None worth considering.”

Now, remember the purpose of Consumer Reports is to find the best buy for the money, which may contribute to the lambasting of belly and butt busters. But, the duo went on to explain that a large portion of the devices did not do what they claimed and the rest proved no more effective than regular floor exercises.

For abdominals, and the often forgotten Obliques, if you find that you are bored with the same old crunch session, my suggestion would be to consider the many alternatives. Mom Looks Great has a list and the instructions to a plethora of abdominal exercises. Leg lifts (for abdominals? …YOU BET!), side crunches and free weight side bends to name a few offer different positions as well as target different areas of the muscles. All are completely free of charge; and, unlike the devices, can be done on a whim. This beats running to the garage to blow off the dust from your $20-30 piece of hinged metal.

For your Glutes (i.e., butt), there are also many muscle toning exercises from which to choose. Add free weights and you can bet that your backside will be burning from the progress you will be making. First off, a simple, non-equipped squat is one of the best and most effective exercises for the backside area. Depending on your strength, add 10-20 pound dumbbells and eventually your favorite pants will have a whole new fit. As a side note, one of my favorite behind builders is the dead lift with dumbbells. While this move is more for your hamstrings, it definitely adds definition to your behind.

For some, this run of the mill free stuff just doesn’t ‘do it’. If you are one of those who must invest money on contraptions to promote motivation, then let it be. Anything that motivates an individual to maintain a healthy lifestyle cannot be all bad. But, if you can get past the notion that more money means more results, a pair of good running shoes, a small set of free weights and a floor mat will provide a well-rounded fitness routine that has proven effective time and again.

About the Author

Sherri Dodd is the creator and author of Mom Looks Great - The Fitness Program for Moms. She is also an ACE-certified Personal Trainer and a Lifestyle & Weight Management Consultant with over fifteen years of exercise experience. She is dedicated to a life of fitness as well as encouraging others to establish healthy habits and a better quality of life.

Don’t Blow Your Nose In The Water Fountain   by Nick Nilsson

We all know the general rules of the gym: don’t drop the weights, wipe your sweat off the machines when you’re done, etc. But do you know all about the more “colorful”, lesser known rules of the gym?

NOTE: These rules are JOKES! If you ever see any of these rules posted at any gym you ever go to, please take a picture for me!

1. Don’t blow your nose in the water fountain.

This is a crude habit and can contribute to the spread of colds and viruses. Besides, that’s what the gym towels are for…

2. No smoking on the cardio machines.

Those little circular spots are water-bottle holders, not ashtrays. If you need a cigarette that badly when you’re working out, tape one to the pulldown bar and take a drag on it as a reward for each rep you do.

3. When spotting someone on bench press, be sure to wipe your face first.

You are not a stalactite, and dripping sweat into someone’s eye is not a good way to make friends.

4. If you choose to wear cologne or perfume to the gym, please don’t marinate in it.

If the person on the stair machine next to you lights up a cigarette, you could both be seriously injured.

5. Those stands that have all the weight plates on them should not be used for holding your donuts.

Your donuts will end up with a terrible metallic taste that even the coffee in your water bottle won’t be able to get out of your mouth.

6. The Crunch Machine is not a vending machine for candy bars.

Please don’t try to put money into this machine. It’s for working your abdominals. You will never, EVER get a Nestle’s Crunch bar out of it.

7. Even though the gym has stair machines, it is not required by law to have elevator machines.

Please stop asking about this at the reception desk.

8. Pick up after your dog when you walk him on the treadmill.

No explanation necessary.

9. If you have a habit of spraying spit when you lift, ensure there is no one in your target area.

It’s bad enough that the mirrors by the squat rack look like a St. Bernard shook himself in front of them.

10. Do not give yourself C.P.R. when doing bench presses.

Bouncing the bar heavily off your ribcage instead of pressing it properly may cause damage to the bar and voids the warranty on the bench. Besides that, you don’t want your spotter feeling as though he’s dribbling a barbell down the court do you?

11. Beer and/or liquor in your water bottle are prohibited.

Unless, of course, you bring enough for everybody. This also goes for mochaccinos, frappaccinos, and anything with an umbrella in it.

12. Use the rowing machine at your own risk.

If it sinks, there are no lifeguards on duty.

Following these rules to the best of your ability will ensure a pleasant exercise experience for everyone.

Thank you.

About the Author

Nick Nilsson is Vice President of BetterU, Inc., an online exercise, fitness, and personal training company. Check out his latest eBook “The Best Exercises You’ve Never Heard Of” at http://www.thebestexercises.com or visit http://www.fitstep.com. You can contact him at betteru@fitstep.com or subscribe to BetterU News, his fitness newsletter at betterunews@fitstep.com.

Movement That Matters: Exercise With a Greater Purpose   by Gillian Hood-Gabrielson

You’ve seen the commercials - “I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!” While this has been a topic of many jokes and late-night comedy skits, the reality is falling is a very real danger for many people. Too often falls can lead to broken bones, hospitalization, and sometimes life-threatening illnesses due to being confined to a bed while recovering.

A less extreme, but still real situation is when a person lacks the leg strength to get out of a chair. Or someone who throws out their back just picking up a child or the groceries from the trunk of the car.

Did you know that this is not inevitable? With consistent and effective exercise, you will maintain your daily activities without injury well into your sixties, seventies, eighties, and beyond.

You may have heard the buzzwords “functional training” and “core training” mentioned in the latest fitness magazines. While these terms sound complicated, they are really terms for the most effective and exciting system of strength training being used today.

Functional training strengthens your body for the everyday movements it has to perform. This could be any type of movement, whether for a sport, your job, or just picking up your kids. Most injuries occur in the course of our everyday lives. Strengthen your body for these activities and you will sustain less injury. Functional training also improves balance. This is essential for preventing falls. A combination of strength and balance will give you the confidence to move through your day with ease!

Core training works on strengthening your “core”, your abdominal and low back muscles. Just as a house needs a foundation to build upon, so does your body. Work on the core first and every other exercise you add will be more effective and make you stronger. Many functional training exercises incorporate core training. There are also exercises that isolate the core for maximum benefit. Core training is the idea behind Pilates and is also used in yoga.

You can incorporate both types of training into your regular workout with equipment such as stability balls, medicine balls, elastic tubing, slides, and dumbbells. Some exercises require no equipment at all! Several videos and guides on the market can teach you many of these exercises. You can also hire a personal trainer for a few sessions so you can learn the proper techniques. These methods are more effective than traditional “gym” strength training machines because more muscles are used and the body becomes more coordinated and strong as a result. Machines do play an important role, however. As a new exerciser, you may not have the strength or coordination necessary for functional training. I recommend a combination of basic core strengthening and the use of machines to develop basic strength before starting the more complex functional and core movements.

One of the best and simplest functional exercises is the squat. We use this motion all day long - getting up from a chair, or picking an object up from the ground, as examples. Learn to squat properly and do it consistently and you will remain strong, independent, and less prone to injury. A great core exercise for beginners is one you can do anytime, anywhere. While sitting or standing, pull your navel towards your spine. Concentrate on performing this movement without flattening your back - it is important to maintain proper posture. This strengthens very deep abdominal muscles that are responsible for protecting your back. Try this exercise while driving - when you stop at a red light, perform 10 repetitions. Your abdominals will thank you for it!

Think about it, do you walk around during the day doing leg extensions? What about abdominals crunches on the floor? While these exercises work targeted muscles and are good accessory exercises, functional exercises create a stronger, healthier body that will be protected from injury and provide a higher quality of life.

About the Author

Gillian Hood-Gabrielson, MS, ACSM is the president of Flexible Fitness, a nationwide coaching practice offering health and fitness solutions for your busy lifestyle including Fitness Coaching by Phone and Intuitive Eating. She can be reached at 866-618-8814 or by email at gillian@flexiblefitness.net. To receive our free report, “I Hate Exercise Too!” and our newsletter, please visit www.flexiblefitnessforyou.com.

Give your relationship a workout   by Kwame DeRoche

Have you ever had a fight over nothing? Seems like a dumb question, doesn’t it? It just doesn’t make sense. But if you’re dating, or know someone who is, you know exactly what I’m talking about.
You say: ‘What’s the matter?’

They say: ‘Nothing.’

You say: ‘Are you sure?’

They say: ‘It’s nothing.’

You say: ‘It’s obviously something. You look upset.’

They say: ‘You’re an (expletive).’

You say: ‘Huh?’

And so it begins. She calls him names. He brings up something from 3 weeks ago. The ex boyfriend comes up. He says something he really doesn’t mean. You can end up arguing about this for another half hour, just to find out that she had a crappy commute this morning, or that he doesn’t think you spend enough time together. In the end, you’re drained, exhausted, and can’t believe you just used up all that energy. Your heart is racing. That vein in your forehead is throbbing. You want some water. You feel like you just ran a marathon.

You just had a relationship workout.

As much as your delts, biceps or quads, you’ve gotta exercise your relationship every once in a while. Give it a little stretch. Unfortunately, most people overlook the easiest way to put energy into their relationship and feel exhausted at the end - rolling around on the floor, making sweet monkey love to one another. No, they seem to prefer often-pointless yelling matches about whose turn it is to wash dishes, or why socks are in the middle of the living room floor. And in an ironic twist, it’s most likely to happen when one or the both of you is at your most tired.

A tried-and-true relationship workout is getting caught in a lie. Because we all know, most people won’t just admit that they lied. They’ll talk in circles. They’ll make up excuses. Or worse, they’ll make up MORE lies. If you’re dealing with a professional, this can go on for days. For the liar, this works the mouth muscles, and agility, because they have to do a lot of fancy footwork. For the party being lied to, the workout is focused on the belly and jaw, where they’re keeping their mouth shut and squeezing their abdominals to keep from laughing at your outrageous story.

Another example? The ever-popular ‘I shouldn’t have to tell you what’s the matter. You should already know.’ Now we all know this means you’re in trouble. And even bigger trouble because you don’t even know what you did wrong. At this point, asking the other party to tell you what you did wrong is roughly the equivalent of tearing off a scab the size of a Buick. It’s only going to serve to piss them off even more. But what do you do? You see, this part of the workout is just a warm-up. You’ve got to use up a lot of energy just to find out what you’ll be arguing about. So pace yourself. It’s a most challenging set.

But now what? You can’t exactly start listing all the things you may have done wrong, hoping to hit the right one. Because you may end up listing something that he or she doesn’t know about. How much would that suck? She’s pissed off because you forgot your 3-month anniversary, but you apologize for scratching her car. He didn’t want chicken for dinner again, and you blurt out that you’re boinking his best friend. From here on out, this workout is one we like to call the back-pedal. It mainly works the brain and the tongue. And rest assured, you’ll really work up a sweat with this one. Depending on what you blurt out (and your back-pedal technique), you may actually get to work your upper body as you pack and move your bags.

Another approach is to flatly apologize for whatever you did, even if you have no clue as to what your offense was. If the other party is easily dazed or confused, this may work in conjunction with a quick change in subject, or ‘jazz hands.’ It works particularly well if you throw in something the other party really likes. An example?

‘Well, whatever I did, I’m sorry. Want to get a sundae at Dairy Queen?’

‘I didn’t mean it. Want some Prada shoes?’ (Then the ‘jazz hands’)

This is a nice, quick, low-impact workout. However, if your partner is quick-witted, you may still have to resort to the back-pedal. If they’re pros, they’ll get the shoes or the sundae from you, never verbally accept your apology, and pick up where you left off as soon as you get home.

Just a couple of examples for you. I’m sure you’ve got your own workouts, too, but I’ll still argue that hot monkey lovin’ is the way to go.

Oh yeah. One last thing. If at any point during your relationship, you ‘feel the burn,’ you might want to visit a clinic.

Soon.

That’s the rant.

Copyright 2001 by Kwame DeRoche’ SUBSCRIBE FREE! Just e-mail kwamrants-subscribe@yahoogroups.com or visit http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kwamrants

Check out Kwam’s other columns at Zromance.com (’East Meets West’), YouMarriedHim.com (’A Man’s View’), and GetRomantic.com !

About the Author

I’m a 27-year-old Advertising/Marketing Senior Writer with a slightly skewed perception of the world. I’ve been writing my rants since early 1999. They’re humorous brain-dumps, all about relationships, TV, movies, driving to work…you know, LIFE. And as long as humans are humans, I’ll always have something to write about. See more or subscribe at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/kwamrants

Posture Your Way To A Safer Fitness Program   by Jim O’Connor

It is your third set, and you are fighting to complete your tenth
repetition of bicep curls. You are doing whatever is necessary to
complete that tenth rep even at the expense of proper exercise form and posture. Exercise posture probably has never entered your mind, nor has anyone said proper spinal alignment, and posture are crucial to your fitness program results.

The often overlooked, and rarely talked about, exercise posture
is extremely important in preventing exercise injuries, and
strengthening your overall skeletal muscle system. When focusing on proper posture while performing an exercise, you will provide a more grounded, solid base; thus, improving focus on taxing the specific intended muscle group or movement without getting unwanted muscles involved.

It is also important to focus on everyday posture outside of your fitness program. Discomfort in the back and neck is the primary adverse consequence of poor posture. It can also strain your hips and knees.

The first thing you must know is what exactly is proper posture.
Find a mirror, take a deep breathe, and exhale. Now observe
your position. Your head should be centered on your neck (not
pushed forward or tilted in any way.) Your shoulders should be
level, and not sloped. Your chest should be up, and abdominals
tucked in. You should also assume the same type of position
when seated.

When conducting any type of exercise, strength training or cardio,
please focus on the specific posture mentioned above. Concentrate on
contracting your abdominals during the execution of all exercises.
Chest will be up, and head straight forward. This little reminder will not only protect you from injury, but automatically strengthen your core muscles from the constant isometric contraction.

It is important to note that poor posture can be corrected by
combating the two major causes of misalignment: weak muscles,
and bad habit. Correction begins outside of the gym getting into the
habit of proper posture each and every day as mentioned above.

Here are a few more exercise tips to help you strengthen the muscles that will affect your posture.

1. Do pelvic tilt exercises while lying on the ground

2. Abdominal crunches

3. Upper and lower back exercises. Rhomboid, and Erector Spinae

4. Strengthen your gluteal and leg muscles

In order to increase your exercise productivity, and decrease the
chance of injury, pay close attention to your posture both during,
and after participating in your specific exercise program.
You will see a difference in results and fitness program injury prevention.

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Jim O’Connor - Exercise Physiologist / The Fitness Promoter

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About the Author

Jim O’Connor, a celebrity fitness consultant in Beverly Hills
California, has been passionately involved in health and fitness
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degree, and learning as much as possible at Gold’s Gym in Venice Beach, Jim created Wellness Word Newsletter to help educate health and fitness enthusiasts. Get your free subscription to fitness program tips.